All in the Suit that you Wear
by WhatWasThat
Summary: A week with the Turks and RenoTseng :p because slash is a wonderful thing.
1. Day 1: There's a lot of metal in Midgar

  
  
Er...um…I'm writing this for my friend. She's going to Europe and is going to bring me back a hot British guy (or maybe at least a picture :p). Yeah.   
You could say that the setting is 'The Turks' and then it focuses in on Reno and Tseng. (Not to be confused with Leno and Zeng.)   
And yeah, It's happy slash because slash is happy. But be forewarned it won't get that graphic. (Awe, nuts.)   
'No nuts' is what I said. Except maybe Heidegger will get a good kick there-He could use it.   
Anyway, at the end there'll be an 'evening with Rufus Shinra' scene because he's just a funny guy.

There's a lot of Metal in Midgar   
Part One

It had been a reasonably nice day in sector 4 but, as Reno noticed, not a lot of the weather reached down into the slums with the exception of rain.

The sunlight fell through the city structure in patches and thin beams that reflected off of the many puddles that Reno ran through. If there was one good thing about the Turks uniforms it was that they were given very sturdy, waterproof boots.

Reno sprinted around a pile of rubble and slowed down as he approached a partially demolished building. There was a large hole in the side of the concrete wall with metal rods poking out. In front of the building there was an enormous, neon sign in the shape of two legs with a pair of stiletto's that served a border around what was once the entrance to what might have been a very reputable bar. The sign gave a brief flicker and then died.

The red-haired Turk stepped behind one of the angular shoes and leaned against the wall to catch his breath. One of the lesser known tactics of the Turks when in pursuit of someone was to run like crazy, loop around in front of the person being pursued and have enough time to recompose by the time they get there.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a silver flip-phone.

Rude was still running along just out of sight of Jonah Yuban, a young scientist who had been described to the Turks as 'A tree-hugging spy'. To his dismay his chase had lead him through a grubby market place where there were far too many children who, in his opinion, found no greater joy than to run in front of busy people, wailing, laughing or being just plain nuisances. He had managed to avoid most of them to the displeasure of a few mothers who, also in his opinion, waited anxiously for a reason to freak out at innocent bystanders.

He felt a buzz in the pocket of his navy blue jacket and pulled out his phone.

"Rude, Department of Administrative Research etc."

"Go left." Reno's voice said from the phone.

"Meet you there."

Rude ran further ahead to an intersection and stopped, waiting in the right hand road where he could easily be seen. He grabbed a light-detonation grenade out of his pocket and hucked it at another path a little ways away which quickly became a lot less of a path. Mr. Yuban, seeing Rude, turned left at an earlier road and kept running. It was neat how fast even scientists could run when they felt the need.

Rude left his intersection and followed behind at a fast stride, regaining his composure on the way. (Fixing his hair and the like)

Reno watched as the man stopped in front of the abandoned building, panting, and looking behind himself for followers. He started to head into the building to hide having not seen Rude.

Reno stepped out from behind a Stiletto and blocked the path of the escapee scientist who yelped, and went to run away again. Reno made no move to stop him as Rude was already blocking the way.

"We're here to apprehend you." Reno said cheerfully. "Courtesy of the Turks."

Jonah Yuban pulled a handgun out of his coat pocket and aimed it vaguely at Reno's Shoulders. It wavered from one shoulder to the other and back again. Reno looked at it thoughtfully and shrugged.

"You're no tough work just so you know. Not one of the most exciting jobs."

Yuban swivelled his head to look at Rude. "I'm not going back. I'll take whatever oath you want not to say a word about all the horribly not-right things I saw but I am not going back. Please. Not going. I will shoot! If necessary."

Rude listened to the man ramble on while Reno sidestepped out of the line of fire and quietly approached the man.

"Hey, Doctor." he said.

Yuban jumped and went to take off again but Reno reached forward and gave him a good Jolt in the side with his special-issue electric prod. The scientist collapsed in a quick jumble of muscle spasms.

"I don't want to drag him through town."

"You take feet I take arms?"

"Ehn. Let's wait for a lift."

Rude bound the scientist's feet together and took the discarded gun while Reno dialled the Shinra transportation unit.

The two Turks found seating on some slabs of concrete.

Reno sifted through the pockets of the scientist's coat.

Next chapter includes: Tseng, a vending machine, and ???


	2. Day 2: Interlogue

This is so very not shooting for accuracy. Especially when Before Crisis comes out. Damn you square-enix, why do you have this passion for mobile phones?

On another note Tseng finally makes his entrance and for some reason It's very difficult to stop making him act like Sanzo. Oh well. Call it a mood swing and he can get nicer in chapter 3.

22222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222222

Day 2 : Interlogue

Tseng sat silently at the long, polished table, almost listening to what Heidegger was saying. He imagined a fog spreading out from the large man and condensing on the high-gloss finish.

It was some kind of miracle that the custodians kept cleaning the table at the beginning of every meeting.

Palmer pawed at the tabletop depressingly, pushing a stray piece of paper around in circles. Around him was a halo of finger smudges.

Scarlet tapped her fingernails on the table and winked at the newly promoted Minister of Documents who tried to ignore her by looking attentive about the conversation.

It was not an unusual thing for a few of the members of Shinra electric co. to come together to have heated monologues. Even through the boredom, Scarlet flashing cleavage whenever someone looked at her, and Heidegger spitting whenever he started to get excited it was still much better than when anyone had an actual idea or plan.

Tseng shut out the noise around him and found a good spot to stare at.

…Nothing too difficult for the Turks" The president of Shinra was saying when Tseng woke up. He must have come in fairly recently as Heidegger was still sulking from being told to be quiet.

Tseng Straightened in his chair, "I hope you still understand that we're still very understaffed."

The president raised an eyebrow, "You don't think the Turks can handle this mission?"

He knows I wasn't listening, Tseng thought angrily. Now I have no idea what he's asking. "Of course we're capable, I'm just concerned about having members on hand in case there's other work or in case of an emergency."

"We are currently in no time of crisis and it is unnecessary to recruit more members."

Tseng held back a reply as he accepted an envelope from the president.

"That should be all for today."

Back at Turk Headquarters

"1..2..3-Lift!"

Tseng opened the front door to see a brand new 'Mr. Coffee' crab-walking across the lounge.

"Hey!" Greeted one of the pairs of legs, (which happened to be named Reno) dropping half of the coffee machine. "What's in the envelope?"

"I haven't looked it over yet. Why do we suddenly have a coffee machine?"

"Perks of the job," Reno replied while making quotes in the air. "Being as we're a highly valued unit"

There was silence as Tseng thought about that comment and the fact that the Turks currently consisted of three working staff.

"It was a joke you know. And mission accomplished by the way. We dropped him off for interrogation. The good doctor called a little while after, wanted to talk to him first I guess."

"Good. I'm going to go sort out a few things and organize the next job. That should probably go near an outlet."

Reno watched Tseng go to his office and close the door before getting back to helping Rude with the coffee machine.

"What do you suppose is wrong with him?"

"…"

"There's no one to talk to around here."

They put Mr. Coffee next to the couch and plugged it in.

"So," Reno said looking satisfied "Now that it's all set up let's see about getting a drink." And with that the two Turks took off for the liquor cabinet.

Later that evening

Knock Knock

The door to Tseng's office peeked open and Reno slipped in.

"You still working in here?" he asked, nudging the door closed with his hip.

"Yes." Tseng answered "Please don't sit there." He added as Reno made a seat out of the desk for himself and swung one leg up to land on a stack of forms.

"Is this a new job?" he asked, pulling a sheet of paper out from underneath himself.

"Yes. I've already spoken with you about getting drunk before eight o'clock haven't I?"

Reno made a face. "I am not drunk just so you know. I have a slight buzz."

"You smell like alcohol."

The red-haired Turk leaned back using the telephone as a headrest. "So what's the mission? Southern Forest…blah blah…mako fountain?"

"We're going to research five locations, retrieve some materia, and take a few pictures-general information gathering."

"We? Are we all going?"

"I'm going to have Rude stay here in case anything else comes up."

"…Is he going to be answering the phone and the door and stuff like that?"

"Yes."

"Hahaha.Haha."

"Rude is very reliable and I trust him to look after things."

Reno made a sad face. "And I'm not?"

"I could arrange for you to stay here if you like."

"No thank you."

"Are you going to get off my desk now?"

"Nah. You're in an awfully sour mood today by the way."

In four quick movements Reno was removed from the desk.

"Hey!" He complained, vengefully taking a pile of files with him onto the floor.

"I have a lot of work to do."

"Don't need to be an ass and take it out on me."

Tseng paused for a moment.

"You might be right." He said, reaching down to help Reno up of off the floor. "It's been a long few days"

"That's ok!" Reno replied as he leveraged himself against the edge of the desk and made short work of pinning Tseng to the floor.

"I feel much better now." He added cheerily.

Tseng turned a sort of reddish colour. "Get your knee off of my back."

"Alright, alright." Reno got up and very quickly hopped out of the office.

"See you tomorrow." He said closing the door behind himself.

Tseng regained his composure, slightly.

-

Ok so somehow in chapter three I have to get the proverbial stick out of Tseng's posterior. Maybe I'll be forced to play through the first disc. Oh, the humanity.

I'll probably make editations (it's a word!) somewhere along the way. Oh, and I wanted to start adding bonus stories at the bottom of each chapter.

> > >

Back somewhere in the future

Rufus rolled over in his sleep, his rifle resting against the side of the bead. If you listened very carefully you could hear him singing very quietly in his sleep a song that sounds like this: "…….Shinra….he's our new….pres-i-dent…"

> > >

The chapter two thought process:

Plotage:

Tseng in meeting.

Tseng comes back.

Vendng machine installed.

Mission #2- ties into plot. (note to self: figure out a plot)

Gimli. Heidegger. Heidegger. Gimli. Heidegger. Gimli. Gimliger. Heidli. Subligar. No. Just no.


	3. Day 3: Trying to get by tight security

33333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333

Day 3:

At about 6:30 AM Reno was attaching extra battery packs to his belt and Tseng was leaving Rude a list of things to know and to take care of.

"If Scarlet comes by don't let her talk for too long. Get her to leave as quickly as you can. Don't tell her or anyone else our location. If Heidegger comes by just let him talk and pretend you're listening"

Tseng paused and thought for a moment.

"What else? If for some reason President Shinra calls - He definitely won't drop by – listen very carefully to what he says and call me right after to let me know. Be very careful about agreeing to anything he says or asks. You shouldn't directly say no to him, just don't agree to anything you're not sure of.

The man speaks in his own code. For example if he says 'increase in budget' he means he's found a way to fix something by paying someone new off. If he says 'needs looking into' he could mean anything from putting someone out of commission to spying. Like I said, call me if he calls. Any questions?"

"Don't think so."

"Alright. Call us if anything comes up."

"Okay"

Reno and Tseng left after a few more minutes of organizing and packing a few items into a single metal suitcase.

"So what are we taking?" Reno asked after a while.

"The PA-86"

"The glorified Go-Kart?"

Reno and Tseng stepped into the elevator.

"Can you think of anything else other than walking?"

Reno frowned, pushing the button to go to the lobby. "But it's so ugly…"

Bing

The two Turks stepped out of the elevator and crossed the lobby.

The Garage was down a short set of stairs. It had had an oily smell mixed with another more chemical scent. Usually there were two female mechanics hanging around but today there was a large sign on the door that said "Haven't woken up yet" with a post-it note that read

"Have a good trip, keys are on the counter. At least bring back some of the parts."

…

Soon enough, Reno and Tseng were following a southward path away from Midgar.

Tseng took a deep breath. "It's nice to be out in the open."

"Yup. Nice sunrise too."

Tseng looked around. "This car isn't as wide as I remember." He noted.

"I think the passenger seat is narrower." Reno commented (sitting as close to the inside edge of the seat as he could.)

"Oh."

Evening of day 3:

Jonah laid on the cot in his cell. He was more comfortable there than he had been for a few weeks.

He pulled a thin bedsheet over himself. The room was cold but very safe. Nice metal walls. Jonah thought a window would be nice. That way he could tell what time of the day it was.

Yesterday he had been interrogated which hadn't been very nice but was still much better than what he had expected. It was a good sign that he hadn't seen any scientists or labs.

Jonah had recently graduated from the Shinra Scientific Academy and before that he had spent a few years abroad studying with various professors and working on an extensive report on Bio-medical ethics.

He had been excited to get a job with Shinra Laboratories. For the first few weeks he had even ignored and made exceptions for the things that he saw there.

One day he went to oversee the mako showers. That was definitely an uncomfortable experience but he hadn't said anything. The soldiers agreed to the process and there were only a few side effects.

Then things started getting weirder. There were experiments on animals which, ninety percent of the time, left them as nothing more than steaming, twitching blobs. Another scientist had his leg severed off in an accident at work. The head scientist, Hojo, had refused to part with the leg and offered to make the injured scientist a mechanical replacement. Before the leg was replaced the rest of the scientist went missing.

Not long after, Jonah carefully wrote a letter of resignation and gave it to Hojo. Hojo said that there was no quitting allowed and had Jonah's building access restricted.

Next, Jonah wrote a letter of complaint but he never managed to get it finished.

Jonah was working on analyzing a bit of DNA when he felt a jab in the back of his neck. He spun around; everyone was working on different tasks. Hojo was walking away and smiled to himself as he threw an empty syringe in the disposal unit.

Jonah waited until most people had left their work to try and retrieve the syringe. He studied it late into the night but couldn't identify any of the substances found on it.

After a while he gave up and went to bed but that night he had quite a few nightmares.

The next day Jonah went to work in the labs but he couldn't focus on. He kept breaking out in sweat, he saw things moving in the corner of his vision and he had bouts of nausea.

He begged Hojo to give him an antidote.

Hojo told him that he had given him a relaxant to help him work better but that he had apparently had an allergic reaction to it.

He also offered to give him three days of treatment to reverse the problem.

Agreeing was a big mistake on Jonah's part but he wasn't quite in his right mind at the time. By the second day he was still having nightmares and nausea. He also started having avid hallucinations and had accidentally bit one of the other scientists. In the morning he had forgotten to get dressed before leaving his room.

Fortunately on the night of the second day he had a brief moment of clarity and escaped from the Shinra building.

He went to an Inn where he camouflaged easily as a drunk. It took a few days for him to start feeling closer to normal.

Within a few days though, he was caught and sent to a cell in Shinra HQ. He quickly learned that he was there because they thought that he was a spy. He fed them little bits of information to help them believe it. As long as he was a spy, he wouldn't have to go back to the labs.

So Jonah sat quietly and almost comfortably in his cell.

He got up when he heard footsteps in the hallway.

"Excuse me. I'd like to know what time it is" He asked through the door. "I'd like to know if I ought to be sleeping"

"Sh!" a voice said as the door slowly opened. A man wearing all dark grey dragged Jonah out by the arm and covered his mouth.

"I'm going to help you get out but I need you to be very quiet and if I think you're going to screw this up in any way, I'll shoot you."

Jonah nodded. The cell was nice and safe but the further away the better so he followed the strange man out of Shinra headquarters and into the main city.

He thanked the man whose only parting response was "You never saw me."

The second-time escapee found another hotel with a bar and, now knowing it was nighttime, went to sleep in a bed that was marginally cleaner than the one he had been in just a few hours ago.

333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333333

You might be asking yourself, What's with this guy? How come he's using up valuable Turk Time? Don't worry, we'll take care of him. He's important to something else which is important to the plot.

Ah, and now for a random after story cameo bit.

"success!" Five and Meghan high-fived as they looked over their newest creation.

"It's never going to be legalized. Anywhere." Five said.

Meghan ran through a system check. "That's what the cloaking is for."

"Good point"

They both hopped into the cockpit of the shiny Mobile suit as the building roof opened up. 20 seconds later they were up in the Northern continent.

"Oh-shit, Mako engines are good."

"Sweet!"

And a sidestory for the sidestory

Heero worked dutifully on a very small mobile phone.

He later then gave it to Quatre for testing.

Quatre sat in a meeting with a representative from a large company.

I need to get him to agree to sell me that branch of the company without causing him to downsize on his remaining branches

Ping!— came a little noise from the mobile phone hooked on Quatre's ear.

"So as I was saying the wtf stocks are inclined to-"

The representative was cut off as Quatre overturned the oak table.

"Enough! I will kill all who stand in my way!"

"Wha?"

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAH heeeheheheheeeeeeheee HAhee!"

Quatre took off down the hallway.

"I must go straight there. I'll kill anybody who opposes me. Die Mr. Coffee! You are in my way!"

Quatre opened fire on the innocent Mr. Coffee and continued on his way.

Ok I do have an obsession with Mr. Coffee. I deny nothing.


	4. Day 4: What no man wants to lose

AHAHAHAHAHA! It's finished almost and hour and a half before deadline. AHAHAHAHA I have lost my brains in the toolshed of hopes...dreams...wallet...keys...

Throwing fiction to Earth...

4444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444

Shinra Kombat!

Choose your destiny

Flawless victory

Shinra kombat!

Fight

Shinra kombat!

Excellent

Reno

Tseng

Rude

Vincent

Elena

Doo doo doo dee doo doo

Shinra kombat

Excellent

Reno

Tseng

Rude

Vincent

Elena

Fatality

Fight

Choose your destiny

Reno

Tseng

Rude

Vincent

Elena

Shinra kombat!

I apologise

This chapter has no doubt been the longest so far. It has also been the most painful. I am in great pain.

I also wrote part of it in the lightest pencil I could find and it was quite a challenge to decipher.

444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444

Day 4: What no man wants to lose.

Early in the morning Rude was sitting in the Turk's lounge enjoying a strong, black coffee when Scarlet let herself in.

"Good Morning." She greeted cheerily.

"'Morning." Rude replied cautiously.

Scarlet glanced briefly around the room.

"Is Tseng in?"

"He's out."

"oh…I see. Left for that errand already? You don't happen to know where he is exactly?"

Rude shook his head.

"Are you sure about that?" Scarlet queried, walking along behind the couch and following the edge with her hand. "I am entrusted to know confidential information."

Rude frowned as he felt long, lacquered fingernails land gently on top of his head.

A lot of bald men try and point out that they don't want people touching their scalps. Shiny, Stubbly, or fuzzy they're not good luck charms and very importantly they're not supposed to be 'cute'. It takes a lot of trust to let someone touch your head. This is probably because it's a part of the body which it very sensitive to things such as knives, bullets and general concussions.

Imagine someone walking up to a woman and running their hands through her hair. It's a fairly intimate gesture which works very much the same way for people with no hair. In other words it's only acceptable if you've just been or are going to be in bed with them very shortly.

Thankfully, it didn't take Scarlet very long to figure out that making circles on Rude's head wasn't going to get her the information she was looking for.

She leaned forward, pulling Rude's head close to her chest. If he had been wearing a red bandana he would have camouflaged fairly easily in her cleavage.

"Come now. He goes out on duty and you don't know where? I think Tseng might've left a note somewhere. Maybe in his office. Or maybe I should go check his room. Would you lead the way for me?"

Rude stood up and set his cup down on the coffee table. He doubted that Scarlet knew where Tseng's room was. He had made a point of getting a personal suite inside the building but not so close to the Turk's headquarters to avoid getting hassled in the off hours.

Scarlet smiled nicely as Rude opened the door out into the hallway for her.

"Maybe, "she began, stepping out the door, "We'll find something around the bed."

"Probably not." Rude replied closing and locking the door behind her.

Scarlet stared at the closed door for awhile as her face turned an angry red colour.

"Rude, sweetie, we were getting on so well!" she yelled through the door. "You must get lonely here. We could go for a coffee!"

Rude didn't hear any of Scarlet's offers; he had already left through a side door and was making his way to the pub.

It was either not to think about what kind of insult it was when someone as easy as Scarlet only wanted to use him to get to Tseng – nevermind the fact that he wasn't prepared to tell her anything about his whereabouts.

A drink might also help him not think about how slamming the door in her face was going to affect the business politics.

Jonah awoke later into the morning. He pulled himself out of bed and into the small washroom in the hotel room.

Jonah looked back at himself from the mirror. He looked like a wreck. Dark circles under his eyes blended in with pale, clammy skin and the hairstyle left something to be desired. There was a scratch on his cheek from something he couldn't remember.

The scientist took time to wash his face and fix his hair. He stood a little taller afterwards and smiled. Today he would leave Midgar and travel as far as he could. Hopefully he'd make it to Costa Del Sol and find work until he could afford a quiet little place to retire.

He hunched over a bit, holding onto his stomach. There were still some stomach pains that hadn't gone away yet but they were certainly not as bad or as frequent as they were.

Nothing a little breakfast wouldn't help, Jonah thought to himself as he dressed and headed downstairs.

The hotel was more known for its food and drink than its rooms but the fare was pretty cheap for both parts.

Jonah put in a request for a hearty breakfast and found himself a seat. He glanced around the room. It was a nice room. Not very good lighting, could've used some windows too.

In the room there was a mix of people you would find in the lower sectors. There was an old man spitting in a can, a younger man making rude jokes at a waitress, a woman who had already had too many drinks, a bald guy with sunglasses.

Jonah looked again. Something about the sunglasses had tipped him off but the suit was what gave it away.

And he was sure he was looking straight at him. Or was he? It was sort of an angle and you really couldn't tell. Rude looked more like he was brooding than anything.

Jonah would have to walk right by him to get to the exit but if he hadn't been recognised yet then it was worth a shot. Maybe he could even run for the door if he got close enough.

If he got caught he'd be back at square one. No Costa Del Sol. Maybe he could strike a deal with the bald man. Maybe he wouldn't even recognize him. Maybe he wouldn't care – not worth the effort to recapture a runaway scientist, no, a runaway spy.

The room started to swirl, clanging glasses rang out and the thrum of the people reverberated in his ears.

Jonah slowly lifted himself from his table and headed towards the door.

Almost to the door, he suddenly felt a firm grip around his arm. Rude dragged him back into the sitting area before sitting back down at his own table.

Jonah stood awkwardly next to him.

"Well then, I ought to be going you see." He said, no longer restrained and went to go back towards the exit.

"No."

Jonah stopped, partially because he didn't feel like being hunted down and partially because his stomach was starting to hurt again. He twisted uncomfortably.

"I'll just head back to my table then…"

"Sit." Rude might have let him leave but he didn't like to see a good day's work undone and having heard that the scientist escaped had been kind of disappointing. Secondly he was technically on duty and it would have felt wrong to let the man go. He watched Jonah pull out the chair on the other side of the table and slowly sit down. It may have also been that he was generally in a bad mood and needed to take it out on someone.

The waitress came over and set down both their meals and a pitcher of beer.

"Don't mind him, hun'" she said to Jonah, "Nobody likes to drink alone." She winked and headed back to the kitchen.

Rude poured himself a glass and took a swig, wiping off his fork on a napkin before spearing Midgar's greasiest french-fries.

Jonah watched him for a few minutes.

"Are you not going to take me back?"

Rude frowned. "Just because you're sitting here, doesn't mean I want to talk to you."

"So I'm just here for company?"

"If you're in a hurry I could take you to Shinra HQ and then come back."

"No, no. I can wait. Don't rush on my behalf."

"You can shut up now."

Jonah picked up a piece of bacon. "May I know who I'm having breakfast with then?"

"Rude."

"Ah. Well." Jonah ended the conversation and ate his meal in silence.

After they were both done Rude dumped him in the Shinra lobby and took off towards the office.

Day 4: Afternoon

Dylan Stephenson, the newly appointed Minister of Documents, stood in front of the large window of his new office. Through it he could see half of Midgar. This far up the Shinra building people were barely specks.

The whole city was dark grey with bits of brightly coloured lines. Around Midgar there was a brown ring of dead earth- sand and dead grass. Beyond that was a stretch of green plains and then the ocean.

Somewhere out there, between the dead ring and the ocean was Dylan's home, a small farming community and a haven for refugee's.

He gave his hometown a quick salute. Afterall, his soul purpose of working for Shinra was to benefit his small homeland.

Day 4: Evening

The Sun was just sinking under the horizon. The last of the birds had been replaced with owls which blinked sleepily and sat in the tree's, waiting for the sky to be just a tad darker before they began to hunt. Crickets made that sound that they make.

In the solitude and the dim light of twilight a loud bang interrupted the night followed by excessive cursing.

"I told you it was a glorified golf kart."

Tseng pulled a few small items from the vehicle. "Well we're almost there."

"Walking?"

"Do you have another idea?"

"I guess it's not very far from here." Reno said, heading Southwards.

Tseng checked the map, following shortly behind.

"You know," He said after a little while, "I didn't think there were this many trees out here."

Earlier they had been journeying through tall grass with the odd tree. The further south they went the more frequently the tree's appeared until they were well into a forest.

"Must be getting close." Reno said stooping in front of a sudden, thick, cluster of trees. There was barely a hand span in between the trunks.

"This must be the place." He added, tugging on a treebranch.

Tseng nodded. "Just watch out for anything suspicious."

"Sure thing. We just need a way to get in – Those trees are packed tight."

"Right."

"This must be the place." Reno said, tugging on a tree branch.

Tseng looked over. "Is that the way in?"

"No I said we need to find a way in."

Tseng thought for a minute before shaking his head.

"Are you going to help me find it?"

"Yeah…"

Tseng and Reno poked around the trees for a short while before finding a narrow opening that led into the tree-fortress.

Both Turks pulled out flashlights as the last of the daylight faded away.

Tseng entered first, the glaring flashlight highlighting plants and ferns along the ground. Small creatures ducked under the foliage, hiding from the light.

"Hey look at the little salamander!" Reno said, bending down to inspect the small amphibian.

Tseng turned around and saw himself and Reno walking in through the path.

"I'm pretty sure he must be a poisonous little guy – Hey, Are you feeling ok?"

"I think there's something weird around here."

"Could be the Mako fountain. Are you picking up signals from Earth with your extra eye?" Reno said sarcastically, pointing to his forehead.

"That's not funny at all"

"Yeesh. Did you want to go back and wait and I'll take the photos?"

"No."

"Well then, let's hurry up so we can ditch this place."

The Turks entered further into the woods. All the way along Tseng kept seeing quick flashes of himself walking along. Sometimes of himself in places he didn't recognize.

As they walked the visions became longer and more frequent.

Reno noticed Tseng's distraction and continually asked him if he wanted to stop or head back.

Eventually they spotted a small, glowing pool surrounded by a few gnarled trees.

Tseng had grown so disorientated that he asked Reno to collect data while he leaned against a tree for support.

"If you'd bother to ask my opinion I think that you're unfit to make decisions and I think we should go back." Reno said firmly.

"If you interfere with this job I'll kill you." Tseng replied hazily until seeing Reno's stubborn look which caused him to add, "And it'll only take a minute before we go back anyway. Pictures and Readings."

Reno shook his head and pulled out a camera and a power-meter as he sat down on a rock near the pool.

Tseng leaned his head back and watched as the forest blurred in and out of focus.

Soon the trees began to look taller and distorted. Everything was glowed a sandy gold colour.

In the gold-dream Tseng felt himself being pulled and pushed like he was floating on a tide. His body felt disconnected and loose. Looking at his hands and arms they seemed blurry and out of focus.

He felt his body be turned around to face a dark smear. The smear grew larger and as it drew close he could see it stretching out towards him.

The image slowly reached out with a spark of light which streamlined towards Tseng and entered his side with a stab of pain.

"Tseng?" Reno said, jumping up as he heard the scrumpling of underbrush behind him. He approached Tseng who had fallen on the ground and was staring forward blankly.

"What's wrong with you?" he asked nervously.

Tseng grabbed hold of Reno's hand and held it in a steadfast grip, still staring out into space.

The dark image wavered across Tseng's sight as he grabbed for the end of the long sword buried in his side. Slowly it withdrew and the whole golden forest faded into black.

Finally Tseng had closed his eyes and Reno sat next to him, awkwardly, with his hand in Tseng's firm grip whilea few owls were calling in the distance.

4444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444

Like OMG explicit! -sarcasm

Because I don't do drugs. Apparently 'scrumpling' isn't a word.

"Is his holiness done with the paper?"

"hmph." Sanzo replied, flicking the remains of a cigarette out into the landscape. "Since when do you read the paper?"

"There's a pageant in the last town we were in. I want to see the results."

"We should all show more interest in the local news." Hakkai put in.

"Hmph." Said Sanzo, handing the paper back.

"Does each town have it's own newspaper?" Goku asked.

Gojyo flipped to the page he was looking for. "Hey, I knew it! I was right."

"Right about what?" Goku asked.

Hakkai turned around in his seat. "Oh no. See she came in first for etiquette. It's split into five categories. Oh my, she did very poorly there." He added pointing to a section, "No surprise. That dress is quite tacky."

"I'm starving!" Goku mentioned loudly.

"Watch where you're driving!" Sanzo hollered.

"whoops!"

Everyone was rocked around as the jeep was steered back on course.

It was quiet for about five minutes before Gojyo spoke up.

"Sanzo. Did you put an article in here?"

"No."

"Funny. It reads: Religious figure seeks those willing to go west"

"Hand it to me."

"Must be quiet. Combat skills preferred. Helpful if you do not mind being shot at."

"Such a coincidence."

"Looking to replace current LACKEYS? Seek Genjo Sanzo for interviews?"

"That's not polite. Even for a joke, Sanzo." Hakkai said.

"It's hardly a joke."

"What d'you mean lackeys!"

'Just what it sounds like, bonehead."

"Sanzo. Are you ditching us."

"He can't ditch us. We're ditching him."

"Jeep."

Jeep changed back into a dragon and the Sanzo party stomped off. Minus Sanzo.

A few days later Sanzo was sitting in restaurant when a man walked in wearing a colourful outfit and stood next to the table.

"Genjo Sanzo"

"Who's asking?"

"You placed an ad in the paper?"

"Sit down. If you're going to travel with me you can't be wearing that stupid clownsuit."

"I have other clothes. This is just from my last job."

"and you need to get a haircut."

"…"

Ok yeah, that was Trowa. Fits the description. It's a joke. Yeeah, whatever, it's almost bedtime and I still have to write half this chapter.


End file.
